New Hampshire was the center of skiing in the United States from the 1930s into the 1950s. Skiing first became popular in northern Europe then crossed the Atlantic to the cities of New York and Boston. Because New Hampshire was so close to Boston, skiing became very important to New… Read more

by Jeffrey R. Leich, Executive Director, New England Ski Museum First published in Historical New Hampshire, Volume 63, Number 2 (Fall 2009) NEW HAMPSHIRE was the epicenter of American skiing from the 1930s into the 1950s when the focus shifted west to higher mountains and deeper, more consistent snowfall. Skiing… Read more

April 16, 2014 marks the passage of 75 years since the last true American Inferno, held on Mount Washington, New Hampshire in the spring of 1939. That the relatively insignificant local ski competition is still remembered today is due to the last-second decision of one of the racers, recent Austrian… Read more

April 16, 2014 marks the passage of 75 years since the last true American Inferno, held on Mount Washington, New Hampshire in the spring of 1939. That the relatively insignificant local ski competition is still remembered today is due to the last-second decision of one of the racers, recent Austrian… Read more

One hundred years and one day after the first documented ascent of Mount Washington on skis, two grandsons and a great grandson of Carl E. Shumway, one of the three to make the first ski climb, celebrated the centennial with a ski tour along the route taken by the 1913… Read more

Herbert Schneider assumed leadership of the Hannes Schneider Ski School at Mount Cranmore following the April 1955 death of his father. Hannes’ passing was completely unexpected, and when it came he had been fully engaged with planning for the new East Slope and chairlift at Cranmore, and had just returned… Read more

The origins of Cranmore Mountain Resort, dating back 75 years to the New Year’s holidays of 1937, lie in an ancient rivalry between adjacent townships in what is now called the Mount Washington Valley. Stung by the reality that his daughter had to travel to nearby Jackson to find ski… Read more

By Bettina Hoerlin It seemed like it would never end: up, up, and up, one step behind the other, my stride mimicking the slow and steady “Bergsteiger” (mountain climber) pace set by the two tall men in front of me. One was my father, who had once held the world… Read more

The Appalachian Mountain Club was formally founded in Boston in 1876, long before skiing began its slow climb to acceptance and popularity. According to one founder writing in 1904, the decisive discussion had taken place on Mt. Attitash, which 90 years later would become a center of Alpine skiing, a… Read more

Many New Englanders know of the 10th Mountain Division, the US Army unit that trained on skis and in the mountains of Colorado in World War II, and eventually saw combat in Italy for a short but exceedingly intense time in 1945. The ranks of the mountain infantry regiments that… Read more

Posts navigation

North Conway Expansion!

The Eastern Slope Branch of the New England Ski Museum is now Open Daily! Visit us in Downtown North Conway NH. The long-time location at Franconia Notch State Park has been, and will remain, our home after more than 30 years, but now we can promote skiing history in two locations!Learn More

NESM News

Shop Our Store

Membership:

New England Ski Museum

New England Ski Museum is a member supported non-profit organization dedicated to the history of skiing. We offer permanent and annually-changing exhibits, and invite you to visit our museum in beautiful Franconia Notch State Park, New Hampshire. Admission to the museum is always free.